Morbus Pācis: Chapter 4
Jo I turned my head to where Castella was standing, looking rightfully lost and confused. Her black hair was tousled from sleep and her eyes flitted between each of us. Acadia spoke up for all of us. "It's a long story." she said apologetically and she started the story. Jim, Kenshin, and I would add in details where she left them out. Castella's expression turned from confused to perplexed. Acadia sighed and nodded. "We were all confused at first, too, but Metus seemed to be telling the truth." "And we're going to help him now?" Castella asked to make sure she heard everything correctly. Kenshin nodded although he looked unhappy at the fact. "When is he coming back?" she asked. Jim and I exchanged a look and I shrugged. "We don't know, but we have to wait for him now." I replied. That didn't go over too well with the group, but we tried to make ourselves busy while we were waiting. I could tell that Kenshin still had his doubts about Metus, and so did Castella. Castella and Kenshin began to cook up breakfast -- they were always on task for something -- while Jim,, Acadia, and I just kind of sat back. We weren't entirely sure what to do, but for the moment we had a little peace in our lives. Castella and Kenshin offering to do the work because they insisted we should relax (really Castella was too stubborn to let anyone else help her) while Acadia and I just goofed off. For a few moments we were allowed to forget about the fact that demons existed and were possibly walking around everywhere. Acadia turned her head to tell me something and a grin spread on my face. For a moment I didn't care if Jim thought I was being immature. Since it was October the temperature outside was growing colder -- the perfect time to use my powers. A small sphere of half melted ice grew in my left hand away from their view, and once it was the perfect size I hurled it at Acadia. It wasn't enough big enough to land a bruise, but it was enough that she could feel it. The sphere landed on her arm and she winced. She narrowed her eyes at me and smiled. "Jo! Not fair!" She picked the ice from the ground and threw it back at me, but I dodged it. I threw another but she dodged and it hit Jim instead. The blood ran from my face and my brain instantly filled with irrational thoughts of him scolding me like he used to when we were younger. A wide grin broke out on his face instead and soon we were playing like children. We only stopped when Castella told us off and gave us our breakfast. It consisted of sausages and eggs. I had just finished eating when Metus appeared in front of us with a demon at his side. It was tied and gagged and glaring at Metus with obvious hatred. "Oh, don't mind him. He's been having a bit of an off day so graciously volunteered to be your test dummy." Metus said when he noticed our expressions. Upon further inspection I realized that the demon was possessing a teenager who was barely older than myself. He had hair the color of straw and baby blue eyes that I assumed were warm and kind until he became possessed. He struggled against the bonds but to no avail. "Test dummy? What for?" I asked and Metus rolled his eyes. "To make flower arrangements." He narrowed his eyes at me but instead of backing away I crossed my arms over my chest. "Metus, quit talking to us as if we're children." My words didn't affect him from the way a smirk grew on his face. "But you are children compared to me. Annoying little brats which happen to be powerful enough to help me. Now, today you'll be learning everything you need to know so you don't get yourself killed on your first day in the real world. Granted, you probably will anyway, but let's try to keep our spirits up. "First, you need to learn about how to stop a demon. These methods aren't permanent so you will die if you don't know anything else." Before he said the next words he winced slightly. "If you step in a circle of salt our demon enemies can't touch you and holy water burns them. Right now there is no way to kill a demon, so try not to run into an enemy demon yet, otherwise I'll have to find new things like you." Acadia opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, then closed her it. "Good choice, darling. Now, preparing holy water is fairly easy so I'm sure you five will figure it out sooner or later. If you can't find salt I would be a bit concerned for your well being." He sounded indifferent at that. "Any questions? Good. Devil's traps are too advanced for your simple minds so I'll save those for later." "Devil's traps?" Kenshin asked. He wore a confused expression like everyone else. "What do those do?" Metus sighed. "Trap unicorns. I'm not sure you five will understand the concept because of your small brains like I said before. Really, I expected more out of you. You're breaking my heart. Now, here's a handy little book I borrowed from some hunters, so knock yourselves out." He tossed a worn book to Jim who caught it easily, and he disappeared. Jim opened the book to the beginning and his eyes widened. "What's in it?" Kenshin asked and Jim took a few minutes for answering as he flipped through the pages. "It's full of information on these monsters. There's ghosts, ghouls, something called a wendigo... This book is like a miniature encyclopedia." Acadia, who was looking over Jim's shoulder to read the text, stopped him at a page. "Wait, look at that! A shapeshifter? I thought those were just fun stories." "It tells you how to kill a specific monster, too," Jim explained. "'Ghosts can be stopped momentarily by iron and salt. To stop a ghost for good, salt the remains and burn them.' Hey, there's a section on demons, too!" While he scanned the pages, I scooted a little closer so I could see what the text was instead of having to wait to hear it. The pages were stained and the cover was ready to fall off. The spine was bent from obvious use and there was no title. I briefly wondered who used to own such a thing. "It says demons can be exorcised by chanting a Latin incantation." Acadia murmured and began to mouth the words. "We could try it out now." she suggested and I nodded. Castella offered to try it first, but even with the gag off the demon didn't even bat an eye. It just yelled some swears that made us cringe. Kenshin went next, then Acadia. After three failed attempts, Jim went with a little less hope than before. "Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus..." Unlike before, where the others might have been pronouncing it wrong, this time the demon was affected. It winced visibly and glared at Jim. I felt my shoulder tense and prepared to spring in before I mentally scolded myself. He could fight his own battles; what was I doing trying to save him? "Metus with his little group of overgrown pigs. I can see right through you. Think you're so incompetent and flawed. And graduations, you are! Can't save anyone, not even your own --" "Shut up!" I interrupted before the demon could finish the sentence. What I imagined would normally be a kind smile was a wide smirk. "Looks like I touched a nerve. Tell me, pretty girl, you look smart, so why are you with them? With you as a meatsuit we could do wonders, what do you say, hmm?" I scowled at him and Jim just barely finished the chant, causing the demon's head to snap back and a great cloud of black smoke to erupt from its mouth. The boy fell to the ground and Kenshin caught him. He steadied him and the boy blinked once, twice, then fell over. Castella ran over to his form and checked for a pulse. She staggered back and looked at us. "He's dead," she murmured and looked back on his body. "He's dead." Category:Leafwhisker Category:Chapter Page Category:The Supernatural Chronicles Category:Morbus Pācis